Come Undone
by fuuko no miko
Summary: There's more than one way to rescue the person you love.


Come Undone

by Fuuko no Miko

7/29/2016

 _ **Author Notes:**_

 _ **I. Love. Voltron.**_

 _ **I. Love. Shillura. Shiro. Allura.**_

 _ **This fic was written for entertainment purposes only. Well, that, and an excuse to get my ship to sail. Wahey!**_

 _ **It is one of those, short, slice of life things. Simple plot, but hopefully enough to make you smile. Laugh. Get giddy. Fangirl. Like me.  
**_

 _ **Italicized thoughts are Allura's. Bolded thoughts are Shiro's.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Voltron. Nope. Not mine. Except those stickers I had back in 1985...I wonder if they're still intact. Voltron Legendary Defender and all of its characters are owned by Dreamworks, Ltd. I think. They are the properties of their respective owners. Which isn't me. I am just a poor fanfic writer. I don't make profit on anything.**_

* * *

Every man deals with his demons differently.

For some, they keep it locked within themselves. Brewing. Building. Hidden for suppression until the day comes that it no longer can be held inside.

For others, they release it physically. Punching. Hitting. Screaming. Destroying whatever lay in their path until their rage dissipates.

In his case, he utilizes both. Sometimes he can be found in solitude, his mind wandering, his physical form peaceful but his insides a mass of turmoil boiling underneath. On other days he can be found engaging in training, venting his bottled up emotions upon training robots who could not sense his frustrations, but merely respond to the blows he bestows upon them.

Tonight he had engaged in both forms of dukeing it out with the dark thoughts in his heads. He had been asleep, soundly. Perhaps too soundly, as he had reached the level of sleep where his conscious mind can no longer suppress the devils underneath. The gladiator arena. The experimentation. The torture. He jolted awake with a soundless scream dying in his throat.

Another nightmare.

As it was, almost every night.

Almost.

Because there were nights he found peace. And sweeter dreams. Dreams of a better future ahead.

Dreams of peace.

Thoughts of hope.

The emergence of Voltron had fueled those visions.

That he was a part of it made it moreso.

Just not tonight.

He tossed the covers aside, took off his sweat-soaked shirt and tossed it in the laundry chute. He went to his dresser to get a change of clothes.

It was empty.

 **Lance!**

It was the blue lion pilot's responsibilities to do the laundry this week and he had a feeling he had goofed off again. He poked his head unto the laundry chute and saw the amassing pile of clothes several floors down, his recently discarded shirt formed the peak of a small mountain of sweat-reeking garments. The stench was intolerable even at that distance and the black lion Paladin had to withdraw before he had a chance to expel his goop of dinner a few hours earlier.

He sighed.

Shiro walked out of his room and headed for the training center, dressed in pajama pants that had seen better days. The castle had a limited supply of clothing and what he was wearing wasn't that bad for something that was several centuries old. He was mildly shocked it didn't disintegrate into dust when he put it on. He suspected it belonged to a former servant as it wasn't as exquisite as Coran's threads. For that matter, a smaller servant, since it fit him rather...snugly.

"Start training level 4." he announced as he walked into the simulation room. No sooner had he said this when the Altean training bot appeared, armed with a double-edged sword. He braced himself as it launched into offense at a blinding speed.

He blocked it, almost a second too late, with his prosthetic arm. The blade of the sword within a hair of his jugular. Shiro grit his teeth as he pushed against his mechanical opponent. The bot was strong, forcing him down almost to his knees. Using his other arm he grabbed hold of the robot's leg, causing it to fall over. He quickly regained his footing and swung at it with the blade of his prosthesis. The robot held up his double edged weapon in defense. The Paladin kept on the offensive, striking the blade against his opponent's own. The training bot held up against his attacks however, its' programming dictating that it was not going to let him get the upper hand.

Takashi Shirogane smiled.

This was going to be therapeutic.

And fun.

"Owwwwww."

"Hold still!"

"It hurts!"

"It's been over an hour...you should be impervious to that pain by now."

"I am not a pincushion!"

"And I am not your nanny!"

"Stooooooooooooop!"

It was this last cry for help that reached his ears when Shiro turned the corner as he returned from his quick sparring match.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

"Be quiet! You're gonna wake the whole castle!"

He knew that voice all too well.

He made a mad dash for the Altean princess's quarters. Readying his mechanical arm he burst through the door with the bravado reserved for legendary swashbucklers in an Errol Flynn movie.

"Your highness!"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!"

He had expected an intruder. An armed Galran. Or a sentry. Or a General.

He didn't expect Pidge.

Nor did he expect the Princess in her nightgown.

Okay...maybe he exected that a little bit...since it was technically past bedtime but then...

And before he could process anything else other than Princess Allura in a fluffy pink night gown and Pidge in a tanktop and shorts standing on the princess' bed with her hands on the monarch's head, he met the other end of a fuzzy pink slipper smack across his face.

Who knew slippers could pack that kind of punch? Given the velocity it travelled of course...it wasn't too surprising.

"Are you okay?" he spoke finally, albeit covering his eyes.

He wasn't going to admit he was blushing to the roots of his tri-colored hair.

Nor that he saw her turning red as well.

Whether it was from anger or embarassment he didn't know.

Nor did he intend to find out.

"Yes...oowwwwww." he heard the Alturan royal mutter. "Quit it!" she then barked at the green lion Paladin.

"Do you want this out of your hair or not?" Pidge muttered in frustration.

"I do."

"Well then let me work on it."

"You've been at it for an hour!"

"Your hair is thicker than an Amazon rainforest."

"It's genetic!"

Shiro risked opening an eye slowly. The princess had grabbed a pillow to cover herself, which to him was a cue that he can take a look now and assess the situation.

Allura was sitting on her bed, her immense mane of silvery hair warped into braids and knots atop her stubborn head. Holding them in place was an intricate headpiece that looked something like from a torture rack than a princess' boudoir. It was a crystalline, pointed, ornate, warped object that made no sense...in his opinion.

They had a liberated a planet from the Galra empire a few days ago, and in their honor a celebration was thrown. The new leaders of the mostly marine-based planet had given them a token of appreciation in the form of this...thing...on the princess Allura's head. Coran had whispered to his monarch that it would be an insult not to accept the gift, as this was part of their culture and an even bigger insult not to wear it during the festivities.

Being the ambassador she was, Allura obliged.

The Paladins tried not to laugh when the princess had stepped out into the celebration in one of her exquisite gowns with this...abomination...on her head.

The key word being..."tried."

He didn't know who laughed the loudest. Lance? Hunk? Coran? He knew it wasn't him, as his lip just about bled from biting it as he tried not to snicker.

It was the most ridiculous thing he had ever seen. Glossy. Pointy. Misshapen. Downright bizaare. But Allura, gracious monarch that she was, gleefully stepped on each and every one of her Paladin's toes in her spiky heels to remind them who was in charge, as she marched down the aisle toward the party held in their honor.

However, if he was being honest with himself, the molluscan crown of coral and thorns did little to distract from the princess's natural good looks. As wacky as it looked on her head, Allura remained radiant and exquisite as her named implied. Alluring. Very much so.

The captain of the team snapped back into reality when he heard another ungodly howl from the subject of his thoughts.

"You're making it worse!" she barked at the hapless green Paladin.

"I'm trying!" Pidge threw her hands in frustration. "How did you get your hair into this thing in the first place?"

"If I knew I would have gotten it out by now!"

"What if we cut your hair?"

"Absolutely not!" she covered her head in protection.

"Hold on!" Shiro interjected as he approached them. Ignoring the death glare his princess was throwing at him, he reached over to examine the damage.

He touched the tip of the thorny piece of jewelry that had seemed to have wrapped itself around the Altean's locks.

"Ummm..."

"What?"

"I think...its...alive..."

"Whaaaat?"

"Eeeeeeeeew!" Pidge jumped back in horror. "Ew ew ew ew ew."

With his index finger he gently touched the crystalline headpiece.

It felt...warm...as though it had...circulation.

"Yep. Alive." he concluded as he crossed his arms over his bare, sweat-filmed chest. Shiro had forgotten that he had jumped in the monarch's room partially dressed and is now subconsciously concealing his torso.

Though...he had a feeling he wasn't the first man Allura had seen in just pajama bottoms. And Pidge was..well...she's been around the young men in the academy enough to not care that he was half-dressed.

 **Right?**

 **Right.**

 **Maybe.**

"Get it off my head!" Allura squealed as she cringed in horror.

"Ummmm...nope." Pidge took a few cautious steps back. "As interesting as it may be to see new life form...I prefer mine automated." she then turned to the creeped out Altean. "How can you not feel that thing is alive?"

"I was busy!"

"Well I'm not touching it."

"As your princess I command you to!"

Shiro sighed as he came forward, examining the object with caution. "It can't be that bad."

"Yes it is!"

"Maybe it's clinging on to your hair because Pidge kept trying to yank it out."

"You're the captain, maybe you can take it out." Pidge suggested, a twinkle of mischief in her eye as she slowly backed away.

Shiro took another step closer to the princess as his gaze skimmed over what he now realizes is a living object wrapped around her locks. "I can try."

"Just...get it out, Shiro." she requested now. The indignation in her tone was gone. "Ive been trying to remove it for the last few hours before I asked for Pidge's help."

"Why not Coran?" he asked. "I would think he would know what this is."

"I don't want Coran touching my hair." she pouted. "That's...creepy."

"But its not creepy if Shiro does?" Pidge piped up in a singsong voice.

"Silence Katie Holt!"

"Pidge Gunderson."

"I will call you what I please." she scolded.

Shiroi ignored the teasing tone in Pidge's inquiry. Instead he concentrated on the object that had unceremoniously tangled itself in the princess's hair.

He caressed what he could identify as possibly the arm of the creature. "It's alright. I won't hurt you." he said as he touched it lightly.

"Why the Quiznak are you speaking to it?"

"Negotiating." he cocked a bit of a smile.

Allura swallowed.

Pidge snickered.

Shiro slowly exhaled.

 _Awkward._

 _So. Strangely. Awkward._

The princess drew her eyes downwards.

As she had stated, she had been fighting with this hairpiece since...forever.

That was what...three or four hours ago? Or a few hundred ticks ago. She doesn't truly remember. She had been tired after the festivities and after a failed attempt at removing her ridiculous hair ornament, figured was just going to let it sit until the day after.

But then she had fallen into slumber...and dreams. Dreams of Altea. Of her family. Of the beauty of her planet before Galra had annhilated the only way of life she had ever known. She had woken up with tears in her eyes.

Whether it was due to her visions or the spiky piece on her head...she wasn't sure.

That's why she had opted to remove the presposterous object and get a little more comfortable. Perhaps she could get a bit more sleep.

And she could not.

Which was why after a while she had enlisted the only other person in this ship whom she felt comfortable with touching her hair to help her unwind her locks from it. (The space mice did come to her mind...but they seemed to have indulged in too much wine cheese and had all passed out.)

To be honest, Pidge did try. Try to wrestle the abominable object away.

And failed miserably.

She suspected it was their ruckus that had drawn the attention of the black lion Paladin. She wasn't completely surprised of course, that he barged in there after hearing her cries. He's always been the most alert and adept of all the Paladins. What threw her off guard was the fact that he was barely dressed.

Allura knew that he had nightmares. On her own sleepless nights she would hear his cries. His calls for help. His tortured moans. She had also seen and heard him spar with the training bots at the most unusual hours when she would rouse. Though at those times when she would observe him, in between her pangs of her wanting to comfort his pain, he was always fully clothed.

Unlike tonight.

His proximity to her now, as he stood before her seated figure, was the closest he had ever been to her person. Her face was at the level of his unclothed torso as his arms reached over her head to take the offending living creature settled on it.

Allura gulped.

 _Oh my._

Shiro was well built. Not overly muscular as one would say gladiators would be. He was lean. Sinewy. Strong. His chest was formed, tapering to a flat, muscled abdomen. Battle scars were randomly spattered all over his body, clearly telling tales of the suffering he had endured from the Galra.

She wanted to trace the outline of each scar.

Wanted to heal them as she had healed the Balmera. Make him forget the horrors that they bestowed upon his person.

Make him feel safe. Cared for. Protected.

A fine sheen of sweat made his body glisten.

She averted her eyes when she realized she was ...rather...staring awkwardly at him. The princess' gaze happened to fall upon the lower half of him, concealed by worn out pajamas that clung to closely to the rest of his well shaped...

"Tilt your head up, your highness." he interrupted her thoughts as he was able to untangle some of her hair. Allura obliged as she lifted her head, her eyes shifing from the masculine sight before her. Her lips thinned in disapproval as though embarassed by the ideas that crossed her mind.

 _This is normal._

 _This is completely normal._

That her head felt like it was spinning. And her mouth felt a bit dry. And that her pulse was starting to race. Or skip. Or...something!

"What is?'

"Huh?"

"You said this is normal?"

Allura resisted the urge to clamp her hands over her mouth when she realized she had spoken out loud. "Yes. Yes it is." she replied firmly.

Shiro raised a brow. "Princess if I make you feel uncomfortable..."

"Did I not say it was normal?" she spat, getting a whiff of his scent when she shifted her head...wait...did he just take a shower? He smelled rather nice...

"Yes...but I..."

"Finish the job." she commanded, surprised that she wasn't tripping over her own words.

"Of course."

Shiro obliged, as he deftly ran his fingers through Allura's hair. He was gently easing out the strands of her locks, away from the viselike grasp of the living hair ornament. He gently caressed the creature's legs, communicating with touch rather than words. Slowly. Gently. He untwined her hair from its grip.

The princess hair was so...soft.

And it smelled good.

Like flowers.

Strange alien ornament creature notwithstanding.

The nature of what he was doing allowed him to stand close to her. The closest he had ever been to her since the day they first met.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't like it.

Because he did.

He really liked it.

And well...he liked her.

Okay, not **that** kind of like.

Like he wanted a girlfriend.

Like, a friend.

He respected her. Admired her courage. Impressed by her determination. Awed by her intelligence.

And her pretty smile. He really liked that too.

 **Because friends are like that** , he lectured himself. **They like their friend's smiles. And their cute pointy ears. And the way their soft, lustrous hair fell like a silver waterfall on the small of their backs!**

 **Right?**

 **Right?!**

 **Stop lying to youself Shirogane.**

His hands smoothed the strands that he were able to pry off the creature. At some point he had picked up a brush from her boudoir and had started brushing her hair. Or did Pidge hand it to him? His mind must be playing ticks on him. He doesn't remember.

 **Where was Pidge anyway?** He didn't recall seeing the young Paladin for the last half hour. Maybe more.

 **Wait...had it been that long?**

This was not Shiro's first go-around with female hair. When he was a child he remembers untangling his mother's hair. She had fallen ill and weak, too weak to even lift her hands to comb her once glorious mane. He remembered taking her tortoise shell comb and helping her untangle the strands. He was 4. Maybe 5. It was all he could do to elicit a smile from her ashen lips as he was too young to do anything else. It had always made his day...and hers. Something he looked forward to until the day she passed away and he realized he could no longer brush it.

 _He was brushing her hair!_

 _Brushing it!_

One minute ago, Shiro had been intoxicating her female senses with the proximity of his magnificently chiseled, war-torn body and now he was enchanting her with his expertly callused hands as they smoothed the tangled strands of her impossibly thick mane.

Allura swallowed.

By Quiznaks, she felt warm.

Very, very warm.

She was going to have to talk to Coran about adjusting the thermostat to her bedroom! It was steaming in here!

Shiro had moved beside her, sitting on her bed nonchalantly as he continued the most unmanly thing known throughout this Galra-ruled universe.

Brushing and untangling the Altean princess' hair.

He didn't mind it. Not at all.

Neither did she.

 **Your hair is so soft.**

 _Your hands feel so strong. Yet so gentle._

 **I hope I'm not hurting you.**

 _I wish I am not emasculating you._

 **I like the feel of your hair in my hands. I really do.**

 _I want to touch you too. I wonder if you would let me._

But those words only stayed in their heads, as their lips stayed sealed to conceal their thoughts.

"Is...is the creature off?" she spoke, after a long, tender silence.

It had been off for quite a while, had he dared admit it. But he didn't want to think he was taking advantage of the situation."Yes, yes it is your highness."

"Good." was all she could muster. Allura risked glancing to her left where he sat comfortably on her bed. The ornate living hair ornament sat on his lap. It had morphed somehow into what appeared to be a shell.

Allura bravely reached out to take the object off his lap. The back of her hand grazed his thigh.

"Thank you, Shiro." she smiled slowly, sweetly.

"Think nothing of it, Allu...Princess Allura." he said.

"That was very sweet...I mean...patient of you."

He laughed nervously. For some reason his heart started pounding erratically. Was it him...or was the Princess leaning just a wee bit closer to him?

"Patience yields focus."he pointed out. "Just doing my duty."

Then she kissed him.

A short, chaste kiss.

A little peck.

On the mouth.

Allura gasped inwardly.

 _Oops._

 _Okay...that...wasn't supposed...to happen._

She blushed.

He was even redder.

What...the...

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." she mumbled incoherently..."I missed. I mean...because it was supposed to be a thank you on the cheek...did you move? I mean you must have...because that wasn't where I was aiming...oh Quiznaks, who aims on that kind of stuff? But you know what I meant right...because..."

Shiro silenced her when he sealed her open mouth with one of his own.

A simple one.

Just like what she gave him.

A quick kiss.

Weeelll...maybe he pressed his lips against hers just a bit longer...by a few ticks.

He stood up suddenly, a bit shocked by his brazeness...and hers!

"There...we're even..." he announced as he made a beeline for the door. "Good night your highness..." he just about stumbled on his way out.

"Good night..Shiro..."

Allura sat there...in a bit of a dreamy haze.

What just...happened there exactly?

Subconsciously she raised her fingers to her slightly parted lips.

 _Did he just...?_

 _Did she just...?_

Her gaze drifted to the ridiculous living headpiece that had entangled itself in her mane. It sat there, still curled up in a ball, not projecting its crystallike arms as it did earlier.

"Naughty, naughty alien headpiece creature!" she reprimanded it.

But the corner of her lips were lifted in a smile.

She went to bed with that plesant thought.

Shiro felt as though as he was walking a little too fast as he headed back to his quarters.

 **Did they just...**

 **No.**

 **Did it count?**

When he stepped into his room his heart beat so fast he could hear it pounding in his eardrums. Looking at his mirror he touched his mouth. The same spot where his ornery, beautiful alien princess planted one on him.

And he had the gall to return the favor...if that's what you call it.

 **I'm in trouble.**

 **I'm in big trouble.**

 **Am I?**

If he was, it was worth it.

Definitely worth it.

A man deals with his demons in many varied ways.

This time, he thinks an angel may just have helped him deal with this one.

 _ **7/29/2016**_

 _ **5:46 pm**_

 _ **Author's Notes:**_

 _ **Somebody just stumbled into a new fandom...**_

 _ **MWAHAHAHAHA!**_

 _ **Okay I'm not THAT new to Voltron. I saw the original heavily edited WEP version of the GO LION series as a child (yes, yes, insert age-appropriate jokes here). I was always a huge fan, and as expected I was a Keith-Allura shipper.**_

 _ **Then I became Lotor-Allura shipper. Lotor no Miko's fanfics. Check out her work and you may get an idea why.**_

 _ **Now it's Shiro-Allura. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Yes I'm fangirling. It's in my DNA. I can't help it. Born a hopeless romantic and more than likely will die that way. Even if I get dementia.**_

 _ **I love them sooooooooooooooooooooooo much. I love the new series. I love the changes they made. And hotdammit they better put Lotor back in there. And Merla. And please have Sendak redeem himself. Because the new Sendak is a complete badass.**_

 _ **More Voltron! Woot! Woot!**_

 _ **I hope the don't kill Shiro. And no Princess Rommel. Because that will totally ruin my ship. Noooooooooooooooo!**_

 _ **Enough fangirling. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always, reviews are much appreciated. Pointless trolling is not.  
**_

 _ **Shillura forevah!**_

 _ **BTW, that whole thing about Shiro's mom was something I just made up. Defying the laws of canon is permitted. Because it's fanfic. Please don't go all canon-nazi on me. Eep.**_

 _ **This fic is for the man I love. Yes you know who you are, so shaddup.**_


End file.
